Talk about sushi artisans: Jiro has nothing on Mayuka Nakamura. She makes gunkan-maki sushi — those little one-bite vertical sushi rolls often filled with ikura, uni, kaibashira or negitori — in the shape and form of miniature battleships. Which is totally appropriate, seeing as that is what the word gunkan means.
This one is based on the Battleship Kongo (trivia fact: it was actually built in Barrow-in-Furness). The name literally translates as "indestructible", although sadly it was sunk in 1944...
Attribution alert: I first saw this in the excellent Spoon & Tamago, where you can read the full story. It's also been picked up by CNNGo. But it's so cool it really deserves to go viral.
PS: Gunkan-maki sushi was invented (or so the story goes) at Kyubey in Ginza in 1941, apparently in nationalistic support of the war effort — and, who knows, to maybe boost sushi sales as well...
